27th April
Probe Expands Into Missing Canadian Man
By Vanessa C. Rolle
The police are networking with the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and the local Ministry of Tourism to share information regarding the investigation into the disappearance of a 34-year-old Canadian man, police have confirmed.
Assistant Superintendent Walter Evans told The Bahama Journal on Thursday that investigations into the whereabouts of Darrell Cloutier, who went missing around April 10, were still ongoing.
Mr. Cloutier was reported missing by his employers at PCL Construction Ltd. on Paradise Island on April 11 when he failed to show up for work.
Mr. Cloutier is an administrative officer at the company where he has been employed since 2004, and is a resident of Olde Towne Sandyport.
"We are in constant contact with representatives from Foreign Affairs in Canada and they are aware, and there is a link with the Ministry of Tourism. So they are updated, and this is not just a singular effort in terms of information, or with regard to information," ASP Evans said.
"We have a person who is missing now and we are doing everything that we can at this stage to find the individual. He is still missing. I can confirm that and the police investigation continues."
He would not comment on whether police were still investigating to determine whether Don Diego Cartwright, 32, who had been picked up by police for questioning, was still a person of interest in the case.
ASP Evans also would not comment on whether police planned to bring any additional charges against Patrice Knowles, the 36-year-old woman who was charged recently with using Mr. Cloutier’s credit card.
Knowles pleaded not guilty to seven counts of fraud. She is on remand at Her Majesty’s Prison.
"All I can say is that we have been making some inroads in regard to our investigation. We don’t want to go further than where we are on our comments on that," ASP Evans said.
"The police investigation continues in this matter. The police have not ceased any operation on that and there has been a continued effort in regard to the search for the missing Canadian. We will continue to search until we get positive results."
Friends of Mr. Cloutier have raised a $10,000 reward for information on his whereabouts.
The police are asking persons who may have any information regarding this case to contact them at 502-9991 or Crimestoppers at 328-TIPS.
The police were reportedly following leads and doing physical searches in the area of Delaporte where the missing man was last known to have been seen.
Mr. Cloutier is a Caucasian, five feet nine inches tall and weighs 180 pounds. He was last seen wearing black pants and a tan coloured golf shirt, police said.
CALGARY — Ten days ago, Darrell Cloutier was preparing to leave the tropical digs where he has worked for more than two years when his idyllic life in the Bahamas was unexpectedly interrupted.
On the evening of April 10, the 34-year-old administration manager for a half-billion-dollar expansion of a luxury Atlantis resort on Paradise Island was dining with his replacement — another Canadian sent south by Edmonton-based PCL Constructors Inc. — and giving the new guy the lay of the land.
“Darrell was doing an absolutely excellent job for us and in fact was coming to the end of his tour of duty and was about to leave in the next few weeks to return to Canada for a new assignment,” Ross Grieve, PCL's chief executive officer, said Wednesday. “His career was going very well and he was going to take on more responsibility.”
But the morning after that business dinner, the normally dependable Calgary man didn't show up at the work site. His co-workers telephoned him and, by afternoon, went to his condominium in an upscale Nassau neighbourhood where he lives alone.
They found his front door unlocked and groceries purchased the day before still stowed in his car. They called police.
“It's very scary because it's been a long time and there's still no sign of him at all,” Mr. Grieve said. “Your mind could run wild with scenarios but you just don't know, you just don't know.”
Wednesday, Glenn Miller, chief superintendent of the Royal Bahamas Police Force central detective unit, said a 36-year-old Bahamian woman has been charged with a number of offences, including possession of Mr. Cloutier's credit and bank cards, as well as fraud for allegedly siphoning funds from his bank account.
He added that two other people were being interrogated Wednesday in connection with Mr. Cloutier's disappearance. That's in addition to another man, who was also wanted by police for questioning in the case and turned himself in Tuesday.
None of the latter three has been charged, but Supt. Miller said police believe all four people were somehow acquainted with Mr. Cloutier.
“From our inquiries there's definitely a suggestion that they know him,” Chief Supt. Miller said.
“It's difficult to determine at this time what happened,” he added. “It's a very suspicious matter and we're treating it as such. Our inquiries are intense and we're treating this as if something happened to him.”
Police are looking for travel documents, but so far haven't had any luck. They are also looking into threats family members said were made against the affable Canadian, who plays in the weekly Nassau Street Hockey League and has worked for PCL for eight years.
“At this point, I don't have any complaint of a threat other than the relative suggesting he might have been receiving some threatening calls,” Chief Supt. Miller said.
Mr. Cloutier's father, Raymond, travelled to the Bahamas last week and told investigators about the threats. His brother and a cousin are also on the island trying to help find him.
Bahamian police did not immediately alert the news media to the missing foreigner and asked the company to refrain from talking about it, as part of the police investigation.On Monday, local police held a news conference and said they were making progress.
He also said Bahamian police are working diligently to find Mr. Cloutier.
Foreign Affairs said Wednesday that consular officials are in touch with local authorities and have offered assistance to the family.
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